Colombia: Calls for chief prosecutor to resign over corruption cover-up

Protesters gathered outside the office of Colombia’s chief prosecutor in Bogota on Friday evening to demand his resignation over an alleged corruption cover-up.

Nestor Humberto Martinez is accused of withholding information that links Colombian politicians and business groups to Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, which is at the centre of a regional corruption scandal involving bribes to secure government contracts.

Demonstrators tore down and burnt the legal office’s flag. The group also waved torches to ‘shine a light’ on the country’s corrupt institutions.

The anti-corruption movement was given impetus by recent events in Peru, where Attorney-General Pedro Chavarry was forced to step down over allegations that he obstructed an Odebrecht graft case.